Ron Paul NH Article

Paul counting on independent voters

By JIM KOZUBEK
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
6 hours, 32 minutes ago

MERRIMACK – Ron Paul said yesterday that taking winning 10 percent of the Republican caucus results in Iowa puts him in solid standing for the New Hampshire primary, with its large contingent of independent voters.

Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, said he captured 29 percent of the independent vote in Iowa, and "when we saw those statistics, we knew the obvious opportunities in New Hampshire" with its 44 percent of independent voters.

His supporters on the streets at midday yesterday were handing out miniature copies of the U.S. Constitution, led by the staccato of a drummer in Colonial dress and a tri-corner hat and chants calling for a revolution.

Last night, about 40 people at a house gathering heard Paul explain his plans for restoring constitutionalism, a political theory that he says means a major reduction in military commitments, ending trade agreements supported by subsidies and abolishing income tax with no proposed substitute.

Homeowner Linda Lagana and neighbor Cathy Whalen said they don't have a second choice on the ballot, and Stephen Szewczyk of Nashua said he wouldn't even vote in November if Paul doesn't get the nomination.

Lagana said she was fed up with government spending and inflation, and if Paul did not get elected, a movement to get the support of legislators for stable economic policies would continue.

"This is not going away," she said.

After being "uninvited" to participate in FOX's debate Sunday night at St. Anselm College, Paul decided to purchase an hour-long television slot that evening, because "I can afford it." (Note: When originally posted, this story misidentified the debate. Paul is in the January 5 ABC debate.)

He raised $20 million in the fourth quarter, more than any other Republican campaign.

Paul said he is going after the Republican nomination and has no interest in a third-party ticket.

He told his audience last night, "We are $2.7 trillion in debt, and history tells us that all great nations collapse due to economic reasons. It starts when the currency goes down, and right now on some days the Canadian dollar increases higher than the U.S dollar, and that should tell us something."

Paul said the borrowing and printing of money creates economic inequities, because the people who get the printed and borrowed money first, notably the government, bankers and financial institutions, get to use it first, and that is an advantage.

He wants to transitionally abolish the Federal Reserve and its money-printing operations and many of the governmental institutions and their programs, such as military occupation, that create a need for foreign debt credits to restrain inflation and reinstitute local controls.